Skip to content
FriendsPantry

Canadian

Butter tarts

Contains egg (no meat or fish)

Small flaky pastry shells filled with a gooey brown-sugar and butter filling that sets at the edges and stays runny in the middle — a Canadian bake-sale classic.

Butter tarts is a Canadian pastry from Canada, ready in about 1 hour 40 minutes and made with brown sugar and unsalted butter. It serves 12 and is rated intermediate to cook.

Start cooking
A serving of Butter tart
Photo: Alex Lozupone / Wikimedia Commons · CC-BY-SA-4.0
Prep
30 min
Cook
20 min
Rest
50 min
Total
1 h 40 min
Serves
12
Level
Intermediate
Calories
258

Ingredients

12 tarts

For the pastry

For the filling

Equipment

Method

  1. Step 1

    Mix the flour and salt, then rub in the cold butter (opens in a new tab) until it looks like coarse crumbs with some pea-sized pieces. Sprinkle in the ice water and press into a dough. Wrap and chill 30 minutes.

    • 10 min

  2. Step 2

    Heat the oven (opens in a new tab) to 200 °C. Roll the pastry 3 mm thick, cut 10 cm rounds and press into a 12-hole muffin tin (opens in a new tab). Chill while you make the filling.

  3. Step 3

    Whisk (opens in a new tab) the brown sugar (opens in a new tab), maple syrup (opens in a new tab), melted butter (opens in a new tab), egg (opens in a new tab), vanilla (opens in a new tab) and vinegar until smooth.

    Eggs being whisked in a bowl
    How it looks · Photo: Kampus Production on Pexels

  4. Step 4

    Scatter a few raisins (opens in a new tab) into each shell if using, then fill two-thirds full with the filling.

    • 3 min
    Fresh herbs scattered over a finished dish
    How it looks · Photo: Klaus Nielsen on Pexels

  5. Step 5

    Bake until the pastry is golden and the filling is puffed and bubbling but still slightly wobbly in the centre.

    Food safety: The filling is molten sugar — let the tarts cool before eating.

  6. Step 6

    Cool in the tin for 20 minutes before easing the tarts out with a knife.

    • 20 min

About this dish

Origin
Ontario, Canada · Commonly attributedMore food from Canada
Dish
Snack · Dessert · Pastries · Desserts
Cooking method
Oven-baked
Taste
sweet, buttery, rich
Diet
Vegetarian (lacto-ovo) · No nut ingredients
All labelsVegetarian (lacto-ovo) · Eggetarian · Pescatarian · Flexitarian-friendly · No nut ingredients · Pork-free · Beef-free
Worked out from the ingredients. How labels work
Good for
Make-ahead · Festive & celebration · Portable / lunchbox
Cook more with
Brown sugar · Unsalted butter · All-purpose flour · Butter · Maple syrup · Egg
Techniques
Baking

Allergens

  • Contains: Milkfrom butter, unsalted butter
  • Contains: Eggsfrom egg
  • Contains: Wheatfrom all-purpose flour
  • Contains: Glutenfrom all-purpose flour
  • May contain: Sulphitesfrom raisins

Based on typical versions of these ingredients and not verified allergen-free. Brands differ and cross-contact happens, so always check labels. For severe allergies, follow your clinician’s advice.

Nutrition

258 kcal per serving

Calculated

1 serving ≈ 68 g · recipe makes 12

Where the energy comes from

  • Protein 4%
  • Carbohydrate 53%
  • Fat 43%
Nutrition per serving and per 100 g
NutrientPer servingPer 100 g*
Energy258 kcal379 kcal
Protein2.8 g4.1 g
Carbohydrate34.1 g50.2 g
Net carbohydrate33.6 g49.3 g
Sugars17.6 g25.8 g
Added sugars17.4 g25.6 g
Fibre0.6 g0.8 g
Fat12.4 g18.3 g
Saturated fat7.6 g11.2 g
Trans fat——
Cholesterol47 mg69 mg
Sodium170 mg250 mg
Salt equivalent0.4 g0.6 g
Vitamins & minerals per serving
Potassium
68 mg
Calcium
29 mg
Iron
1.1 mg
Magnesium
9 mg
Vitamin A (RAE)
106 µg
Vitamin C
0 mg
Vitamin D
0.1 µg
Vitamin B12
0.1 µg
Folate (DFE)
63 µg

How these numbers were made

  • Calculated from USDA FoodData Central (SR Legacy) per-100 g values and the listed quantities.
  • *Per 100 g of combined raw ingredients; the cooked dish may weigh more or less.
  • Optional ingredients are not included: raisins.
  • “—” means the value isn’t known for enough of the ingredients; it is never zero by default.
  • Values are estimates for guidance, not for medical dosing. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. fdc.nal.usda.gov.

Good to know

Tips

  • Overfilling makes the syrup bubble over and weld the tarts to the tin.

Common mistakes

  • Overbaking sets the filling solid — it should still jiggle when you take it out.

Serve with

  • Serve at room temperature with coffee or tea.

Storage

  • Keep airtight at room temperature 2 days, refrigerate up to 5 days, or freeze up to 2 months.

Original editorial recipe · FriendsPantry editorial · Not yet independently reviewed · Added · Updated

Recipe DNA

How this dish is built

Built from the recipe’s own sections. Each band’s width is its share of the dish by weight. Choose a component to see what it does.

Structure

For the pastry

Used in step 1

Baker’s notes

Customise in Bread & Bakery

Timeline and readiness cues

  1. Mix and knead · about 30 min

    Knead until smooth and soft; it should feel like an earlobe.

  2. Rest · about 30 min

    Covered so it doesn't dry out; relaxed dough rolls and shapes without springing back.

  3. Bake · about 18 min at 200 °C

    Puffed with golden-brown spots on both sides.

  4. Cool · about 20 min

    Cool on a rack before slicing — the crumb is still setting; cutting hot bread makes it gummy.

  5. Start to finish: about 1 h 38 min. Times are a guide — warmth changes everything; follow the cues.

If something goes wrong

  • Pale crust

    Likely causes

    • Oven too cool
    • Too little sugar or no milk/egg for browning
    • Over-fermented (yeast ate the sugars)

    What to do

    • Check the oven with a thermometer
    • Brush with egg wash or milk
    • Shorten the fermentation
  • Burnt bottom

    Likely causes

    • Tray too close to the heat
    • Dark tray absorbs more heat
    • Too much sugar in the dough

    What to do

    • Bake on the middle shelf
    • Double up trays or use a light-coloured one
    • Lower the temperature 10–15 °C and bake a little longer

Reviews & corrections

Reviews come from signed-in cooks and appear after a moderator checks them. We never show made-up ratings.

You might also like